3 ms·

> Really though America's the only nation that could really pull off any real space progress at the moment Well in my opinion, given the current state of the

> Really though America's the only nation that could really pull off any real space progress at the moment Well in my opinion, given the current state of the american economy in particular and the western economy in general, I'd think it's upto China and India to be the innovators in space for the next decade or so. After all both of them did do successful man and moon missions respectively, quite recently.

lucifer 17y ago
India? They certainly have the brain power required, but India is still figuring out how to feed its multitudes. IEEE Spectrum ran an issue devoted to the Mars mission recently. Very interesting read. Per my reading, the technical challenges are orders of magnitude more difficult on landing on the Moon. The problem does not appear to be one of mere political will (and subsequent funding). The barriers are principally technical in nature, and US and Russia (and potentially EU) are the most likely candidates to address these technical challenges. Special Issue: http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/static/special-reports http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/static/special-reports Why Mars is hard: http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/aerospace/space-flight/mars-is-hard http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/aerospace/space-flight/mars-is-... China: http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/aerospace/space-flight/could-china-get-to-mars-first http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/aerospace/space-flight/could-ch... [edit: +links]
- asdlfj2sd33 17y ago
  They certainly have the brain power required, but India is still figuring out how to feed its multitudes. America also has hungry people, look around the Appalachians. Having an underclass does not mean you can't go to the moon. Perhaps it should, but it never has and still doesn't.
  - lucifer 17y ago
    Perhaps (they are equivalent fractions) but I rarely meet American movers and shakers that worry about the American underclass. You should read my statement as a positive consideration of the priorities of the Indian elite.
- chaosprophet 17y ago
  Well since US, Russia and the EU are not going to be spending billions on space tech with their economies in shambles, I'd still think it's upto India and China to innovate. India might not have the tech required now, just as India did not have the tech required to make nuclear warheads once. Any country that has sufficient monetary and educational resources can most definitely innovate. Also, you seem to be contradicting yourself: You say India has the brains but not the tech to go to the moon???
  - eru 17y ago
    > "[...] with their economies in shambles [...]" I guess going to Mars will take longer than the current crisis.

lucifer 17y ago

India? They certainly have the brain power required, but India is still figuring out how to feed its multitudes. IEEE Spectrum ran an issue devoted to the Mars mission recently. Very interesting read. Per my reading, the technical challenges are orders of magnitude more difficult on landing on the Moon. The problem does not appear to be one of mere political will (and subsequent funding). The barriers are principally technical in nature, and US and Russia (and potentially EU) are the most likely candidates to address these technical challenges. Special Issue: http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/static/special-reports http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/static/special-reports Why Mars is hard: http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/aerospace/space-flight/mars-is-hard http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/aerospace/space-flight/mars-is-... China: http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/aerospace/space-flight/could-china-get-to-mars-first http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/aerospace/space-flight/could-ch... [edit: +links]

asdlfj2sd33 17y ago
They certainly have the brain power required, but India is still figuring out how to feed its multitudes. America also has hungry people, look around the Appalachians. Having an underclass does not mean you can't go to the moon. Perhaps it should, but it never has and still doesn't.
- lucifer 17y ago
  Perhaps (they are equivalent fractions) but I rarely meet American movers and shakers that worry about the American underclass. You should read my statement as a positive consideration of the priorities of the Indian elite.
chaosprophet 17y ago
Well since US, Russia and the EU are not going to be spending billions on space tech with their economies in shambles, I'd still think it's upto India and China to innovate. India might not have the tech required now, just as India did not have the tech required to make nuclear warheads once. Any country that has sufficient monetary and educational resources can most definitely innovate. Also, you seem to be contradicting yourself: You say India has the brains but not the tech to go to the moon???
- eru 17y ago
  > "[...] with their economies in shambles [...]" I guess going to Mars will take longer than the current crisis.